Kelvin Ekerete
29 June 2021
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Nigeria Professional Football League side, Enyimba, say their players and officials hid in the dressing room for several minutes in order to avoid being attacked by irate fans of Plateau United in Jos on Sunday.
The fans pelted players and officials of Enyimba with objects, as they made their way to the dressing room after their hard-fought goalless draw against hosts Plateau United in a match-day 29 encounter at the New Jos Stadium, with the visitors’ midfielder Dare Olatunji and goalkeeper Sabirou Bassa-Djeri sustaining injuries following the attack.
The chaos started in the 90th minute, when Enyimba defender, Timothy Danladi, was issued a red card for a foul, but as he exited the pitch, angry fans hurled objects at him.
The fans, who got angry after the centre referee waved play on following pleas from Plateau United players for a penalty late on, then invaded the pitch and ran after the match officials, but the security personnel on duty protected the referee and his assistants, who remained in the centre of the pitch.
Zazi Bariza, Enyimba media officer, said players and officials of the Aba-based team were holed up in the dressing room for over 30 minutes before they made their way out of the stadium to their hotel.
“We managed to squeeze into the dressing room and stayed there for some time, waiting for the angry crowd to disperse before we could leave the stadium,” Bariza told The PUNCH.
“Two players sustained open wounds – Bassa-Djeri and Dare Olatunji. Others were hit but no open wounds. I hope nothing happens to them internally.”